Antimicrobial compositions contain materials which have the ability to disinfect. It is generally recognised that a disinfecting material greatly reduces or even eliminates the micro-organisms existing on a surface.
Although disinfecting compositions based on known disinfecting materials like bleach, quaternary ammonium compound, essential oil or the like, provide good immediate disinfecting properties, they do not maintain the disinfecting activity of the compositions for prolonged periods after their application to a hard-surface, to disinfect. Also consumers are looking for disinfecting compositions that on top of the disinfecting properties also provide excellent cleaning performance, especially on greasy soils while not leaving visible streak/filming on the surface upon drying.
It is thus an object of the present to provide not only effective disinfecting performance of any treated surface, with maximum efficiency, but also a greatly prolonged disinfecting action after application. Another object of the present invention is to provide compositions delivering on top of immediate and long lasting disinfecting properties, also excellent cleaning performance while further improving the shine onto the surface treated.
It has now been found that this can be achieved by formulating a liquid composition comprising an effective amount of disinfecting material and a poly(alkylene glycol) alkyl ether as defined herein. In a preferred embodiment the disinfecting material is a peroxygen bleach and/or an antimicrobial essential oil and/or an active thereof. Thus compositions are provided which encounter good acceptance amongst the consumers who are looking for disinfecting compositions based on safer and natural compounds.
Advantageously, effective immediate disinfecting performance as well as long lasting disinfecting performance is provided using a low total level of disinfecting materials.
Indeed, the present invention is based on the finding that by adding a single ingredient, i.e. the poly(alkylene glycol) alkyl ether as defined herein, to a composition comprising a disinfecting material, not only excellent immediate disinfecting performance but also improved long lasting disinfecting performance is provided, on top of excellent cleaning properties, especially on greasy stains, and excellent shine properties. Advantageously, the present invention allows the formulation of cost effective compositions.
An advantage of the present compositions is that they may be used to provide effective immediate and long lasting disinfection on any surfaces, even at high dilution levels, i.e., up to dilution levels of from 1:100 (composition:water).
Another advantage of the present invention is that immediate and long lasting disinfection is provided on a broad range of pure bacterial strains including Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial strains. The combination of peroxygen bleach and an antimicrobial essential oil or active thereof as the disinfecting material, according to the present invention is particularly effective on Gram negative bacterial strains.